I've seen conflicting information on the forum about using a Hughesnet antenna and LNB for receiving FTA. I've got a Hughesnet dish with a radio part number 1505328-0014 which I assume is both transmit and receive. I've read that a Hughesnet LNB can be used and that one just needs to unhook the transmitter and connect the LNB to a FTA receiver. I pulled the cover off the radio and not seeing anything obvious as to how to disconnect a transmitter leaving only the LNB in the circuit.
Hughesnet 1505328-0014 for FTA?
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First of all WELCOME to SatelliteGuys JasmineKate!!
On the older DIRECWAY/HUGHESNET dishes you could use the LNBF.
The one you are talking about is Ka band and will not do you any good.
You can however use the dish, if you replace the LNBF, with a standard linear type LNBF. This is not something I recommend for a newbie, until you get the hang of how this all works. However, it can be down with a lot of patience and research before you take it on. You will need to mount the one you have now and take several measurements. Then fashsion a holder for a proper linear LNBF. Making sure it is resting in the same place. This will ensure that you hit the "sweet" spot. It will not be the ideal solution, but if you are short on cash and want to use it you will get a good bit of what is up there with that dish.
On the older DIRECWAY/HUGHESNET dishes you could use the LNBF.
The one you are talking about is Ka band and will not do you any good.
You can however use the dish, if you replace the LNBF, with a standard linear type LNBF. This is not something I recommend for a newbie, until you get the hang of how this all works. However, it can be down with a lot of patience and research before you take it on. You will need to mount the one you have now and take several measurements. Then fashsion a holder for a proper linear LNBF. Making sure it is resting in the same place. This will ensure that you hit the "sweet" spot. It will not be the ideal solution, but if you are short on cash and want to use it you will get a good bit of what is up there with that dish.
Thanks! That makes sense. Maybe later on down the road there might be more FTA on Ka band in which case, I think I read somewhere that this LNB would require 30v so I guess one would have to rig up a circuit to power it with the higher voltage and filter out the voltage sent from the receiver. I'll go about looking for a C band dish to haul off. I'm in a sparsely populated area here in far west Texas and haven't run across one yet. In the meantime I may pick up a Ku dish and LNB to start with. Have the old style DIRECWAY/HUGHESNET dishes been abandoned completely for their original purpose? Maybe I'll run across one of those. If I do, is the removal of transmitter portion obvious or are there some instructions available somewhere?
Since you have the lnb transmitter on the dish you can make all measurements and purchase a lnb bracket to match up a new fta linear ku lnb. I have a hughsnet dish dedicated to 99w. Works good. Remember to give your self i half inch to move lnb back and forth to fine tune sats. HughesNet focal point? here is a forum you can check out.
Is there anything wrong with the $4.95 LNB from eBay seller cctv-superstore? Since I have a single-tuner receiver but do plan to eventually get a c band dish, is there a recommended dual band lnb you would recommend or is it better to buy one ku and later a c band?
Buy from hypermegasat Casey sells good fta equipment and ke4est plus Brian to.
Never tried that particular one, but I can tell you the noise figure number given is a lie.
Not possible!The only reason you would want a dual is if you plan on having more than one receiver in the future that is running at the same time as the first one.
The MK1-PLL, that I carry, is an excellent choice if you stay with single.
Welcome to Michael Electronics
I picked up an MK1-PLL and flashed the receiver with 6Aug-2019 release of OpenPLi 6.2. Selecting "Signal finder" from the menu after choosing the satellite the antenna is aimed at, I get no signal at all. Thinking it might help, I dug out an old DirectTV HR10-250 TiVo and an 18" dish with triple LNB. Without mounting the 18" dish, just holding it, I moved it around in the general direction I recall it having been pointed and before too long got some bars of signal on the TiVo. Then I unhooked the DirectTV LNB so I could try the DirectTV LNB on the HughesNet dish. I adjusted the azimuth and elevation of the HughesNet dish and held the DirectTV LNB in the general area of the focal point of the dish and got some bars of signal on the TiVo. Since I wanted to find the best position for the MK1-PLL LNB, and I was still using the DirectTV LNB with the TiVo on the 119W satellite, I re-positioned the HughesNet dish so the "B" feedhorn could be placed in center position and receive a signal. I found that with the DirectTV LNB, I had what seemed an enormous area in which I could position the LNB and still receive some bars of signal. I mean, at least 2 inches closer to or further from the dish and angled up to about 30 degrees to the left or right of center and the same amount angled up or down. Since the DirectTV LNB is circularly polarized, I could also hold the feedhorn in position and rotate the LNB without loosing signal. Switching back to the FTA receiver and LNB, I get no signal at all. Are the DirectTV satellites just that much stronger or is it that circular LNBs are orders of magnitude easier to aim, or is it that the signal finder on an enigma2 box has a refresh rate several orders of magnitude slower than the old HR10-250? Based on my experience so far I'm almost ready to go looking for a static image of 0% signal that I'm almost convinced is part of the firmware taking the place of an actual functioning signal finder.
Spent several hours yesterday and only twice did I see a flicker of a change on the screen. It occurred so fast that I couldn't tell what it was that temporarily replaced the 0.0%. I did stay up until 11:03 PM or whatever it was when the moon was within a tenth of a degree of the azimuth of 97W. I sighted up the LNB support tube to line up the dish and tightened the bolts. I figured this would help a lot since using the compass on the phone is unreliable due to the metal of the dish or the mount pole or whatever. Now I'm thinking that the main problem may be the LNB skew since without a proper bracket it is hard to tell when it is set to 11.1 degrees. I'll fabricate something and see if I get better results.
Will the DirectTV LNB work with a FTA receiver or would I need a B-block converter? NOT looking to get any free DirectTV but would at least like to see some bars of signal from ANYTHING on the FTA receiver.
I think you are talking about Ka band. You would have to modify the directv lnb. Or purchase a Ka lnb form Europe. Even then from what i have seen in the forums is that there is nothing viewable via Ka band. Unless there is some new info maybe more can share here.
LNB skew is not that critical. Sure, you can peak it and get much better signal level, but it won't stop you, or give you a complete "no signal" situation.
There's something else going on here. You do realize that even a move the width of a pencil can be all it takes for FULL to NO signal on KU, right? You need tiny movements.
There's something else going on here. You do realize that even a move the width of a pencil can be all it takes for FULL to NO signal on KU, right? You need tiny movements.
Doing what you are doing is hard enough with little experience. Trying to use a STB to aim with on a modified dish is almost futile.
You need to get a proper dish or a good satellite meter. Maybe both. A STB is very slow at locking a signal, when you are moving a dish.
If not you will needs lots of patience, and that may not be enough. You have to have the skew correct, a good known frequency, programmed in( and programmed in properly), and the LNBF has to be in the exact spot of focus, not a general area. Not only that the dish has to be aimed dead on.
With a good satellite finder meter, you can start in a "general" area and have a better chance of finding a signal.
You must get a signal on the quality meter on your receiver. If the other one moves it could just be random static.
IMO calling the other one just a "signal" meter is deceiving.
Usually it is zero signal, no LNB/LNBF connected.
A reading somewhere in the middle: The receiver has detected a proper LNB/LNBF
Full scale or really high: There is a lock on the quality meter.
So you must be using the quality meter. Go back and try for 97W. Make sure 12152 H 20000 is entered for the transponder. Make sure your LO is set to 10750(assuming you are using the MK1-PLL).
Aim the dish using Dish Pointer dot com.
Put in your exact address and zoom in on where your house is, select 97W, move the X to where your dish is. Look at where is shows to aim. Aim to that as a starting point.
Put the HN LNBF back on and fashion a way to put the MK1PLL on in closer to a general area.
You can use the skew on the dish. In others words with that dish it will allow you to move the whole reflector.
Post lots of pictures!!!!
You need to get a proper dish or a good satellite meter. Maybe both. A STB is very slow at locking a signal, when you are moving a dish.
If not you will needs lots of patience, and that may not be enough. You have to have the skew correct, a good known frequency, programmed in( and programmed in properly), and the LNBF has to be in the exact spot of focus, not a general area. Not only that the dish has to be aimed dead on.
With a good satellite finder meter, you can start in a "general" area and have a better chance of finding a signal.
You must get a signal on the quality meter on your receiver. If the other one moves it could just be random static.
IMO calling the other one just a "signal" meter is deceiving.
Usually it is zero signal, no LNB/LNBF connected.
A reading somewhere in the middle: The receiver has detected a proper LNB/LNBF
Full scale or really high: There is a lock on the quality meter.
So you must be using the quality meter. Go back and try for 97W. Make sure 12152 H 20000 is entered for the transponder. Make sure your LO is set to 10750(assuming you are using the MK1-PLL).
Aim the dish using Dish Pointer dot com.
Put in your exact address and zoom in on where your house is, select 97W, move the X to where your dish is. Look at where is shows to aim. Aim to that as a starting point.
Put the HN LNBF back on and fashion a way to put the MK1PLL on in closer to a general area.
You can use the skew on the dish. In others words with that dish it will allow you to move the whole reflector.
Post lots of pictures!!!!
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